Silence is Golden (But So are Friends)
by M14Mouse
Summary: Our hero may be quiet but to his friends, he says plenty. (Dragon Quest 11)


Silence is Golden (But So Are Friends)  
By: M14Mouse

Summary: Our hero may be quiet but to his friends, he says plenty.

Disclaimer: Don't own them. This story is unbetaed.

Hendrik realized quickly that the honored Luminary didn't talk much.

He didn't mind too much. He adjusted to silence. In fact, sometimes, he even enjoyed the silence at times.

Some moments, he had the urge to fill the silence with words.

Thus has leaded to this conversation…

"I have been a knight for years. I fought armies of man and creatures. And yet…bugs…those crawling, hairy bugs…they make my skin crawl."

The honored Luminary's eye brow rose slightly at his statement.

"Yes, I check my beds rolls every night. Sometimes, If I am able, I bring those candles that chase those fowl creatures away."

When Luminary didn't say anything, he continued with the conversation.

"I blame this fear on Jasper. I think that was part of his strategy. He dropped one of those disgusting things in my pants. I can still feel it crawling on skin. What an awful feeling…"

Even now, if he closed his eyes, he could feel their legs on their skin. He wanted to take off his armor…just to check.

He felt a hand touch his back. He looked over to see him next to him. His eyes were fill with worry.

"It is nothing. My apologizes, sire. I…Thank you. I believe that it is time for rest." He said as he moved away.

He turned away in hopes that he doesn't see his embarrassment. Quickly, he went to his bed rolls to unroll it and check for bugs.

The Honored Luminary didn't press the matter.

But the next morning, there was one of those candles were by his bedside.

-DQDQDQ-

Lord Robert and his sire were laying side by side looking at the night sky. It wasn't very far from the campsite. He watched as Lord Robert pointed to a star. His sire waved his hand.

"I know…I know. Your little part of the world had a different name. In our tongue, it is called the Guiding Star."

His sire chuckled softly.

"Cheeky. Which one do you want to learn about today?"

His sire pointed to another star in the sky.

"Aww…Little Bear and Big Bear. According to lore, they are a mother and son placed up there by the great tree to protect them from the rage of an emperor," Lord Robert said

"We call them Little Dipper and Big Dipper. According to our lore, a wife got angry at her husband. She threw two of her favorite spoons at her husband. A small silver one that she used for her tea and the other large gold one that she used for cooking. She threw them as hard she could. She threw them so hard that they bounced off a rock and soared into the sky," His sire spoke

"….I like yours better, laddie. Pick another one."

His sire picked another one.

"That one is part of the seven wives and the merchant. Uhh…maybe, I should share that another time. It is a good drinking tale."

He watched as his sire leaned over and talked into Lord Robert's ear. He watched as Lord Robert's face turned all sorts of colors. Briefly, he wondered what said.

"LADDIE!"

His sire laughed and Lord Robert soon followed suit.

Now, he really wanted to know.

-DQDQDQ-

"Oh, thank you, honey. That was very sweet of you," Sylvando said as he patted his sire's hand on his shoulder.

His sire smiled softly and moved his hand away from Sylvando's shoulder. Sire tilted his head slightly and waved his hand.

"I am fine, sweetie. Go be a manly man and forge us some shiny weapons. Could you possibly make one with glitter? That would be fabulous." Sylvando said with a wave.

His sire's smile grew.

"Diamonds suit you better."

Sylvando clapped.

"Oh, honey. You know what I like!"

The Honored Luminary laughed and turned away to work on the forge. He watched for a moment as the Luminary work then turned his attention to Sylvando who was testing the strings on his guitar.

"Oh, you have a burning question. What is it? The Great Sylvando might have an answer for you!" Sylvando said.

"I notice that…The honored Luminary doesn't speak much," He said.

Sylvando blinked.

"Are you serious? Good lord, he speaks plenty!"

He blinked in confusion. Surely, he was jesting him.

Sylvando sighed.

"You haven't been paying attention. Our little star speaks with his actions, not his words."

"Explain."

"When he put on my boys' outfit, he didn't complain or say a word. He just…looked at me then nodded his head. Like he knew…and I…he knew…Just for me. Just to see me smile. Oh, honey, our little star has such a good heart."

"Ah…Sylvando speaks the truth, laddie. He just sat with me after the ritual. Just let me ramble like an old man for hours," Lord Robert said as he took a seat next to Sylvando.

"He brought me my favorite candies when I talked about them. When I refused step floor into my town, he brought me some. I supposed that he knew about my papi too. Clever boy." Sylvando said.

"Or when Erik wanted that new weapon, he sold some other items for it."

"Or when Veronica tore her dress, he fixed up with no thought or worry. Sweetheart was upset when she couldn't fix it with magic."

"Or when Serenia lost her wand. They spend hours looking for it. Turned out it was in her bag all along!"

"Or when Jade pulled a muscle."

"That was hilarious, daring. He just stood there and waved that little bottle around. Dear lordy….Jade's face"

"My boy is all about actions. He said that he learned it from his other grandfather. Actions speak more so than words, he said. Wise man. I would have liked to have met him," Lord Robert said.

"Interesting," He said.

Very interesting indeed.

-DQDQ-

"Princess…" He said as he approached the princess. She gave him a look that stopped him in his tracks.

"I am fine, Hedrick," The princess said as she rubbed her shoulder.

Behind him, he heard a bag open.

"Not you!"

He turned around to see his sire holding a bottle.

"You might as well, lassie. You always feel better," Lord Robert said.

"It smells awful," Princess said as she made a face.

"Tha means that it is working, lassie."

The Princess huffed for a moment then turned her attention back to the boy. His sire continued to hold the jar in his hand. His eye brow rose slightly.

"I am not going to use it. I am fine."

The honored Luminary tilted his head. His hand and the jar didn't waver.

Princess stared at the jar then his sire. Her lips become pressed. Sire gave her a small smile.

"….."

"…."

She huffed.

"Fine."

His sire's smile brightly.

Princess walked over and grabbed the jar from his sire's hands.

"You are a terrible little brother," Princess said.

That caused his sire's smile even more.

-DQDQDQ-

He didn't notice the difference until Erik rejoined the party. From what he gathered, Erik was the honored Luminary's first companion.

The quiet camaraderie and their different backgrounds between the two remind him much of his own friendship with Jasper.

Unlike he and Jasper's friendship, there was no race to see who is better…stronger…faster. It was an ease that left him in awe…and in jealousy.

Their friendship seemed to fill in the gaps…where one is weak, the other is strong.

It was interesting to observe their interactions without Erik's memories. His sire would keep his distance, but he could tell that the honored Luminary struggled with such feelings. Erik struggled to keep his distance. He could clearly see that he was draw to his friend but he didn't have the memories related to those feelings. It like there was a war going inside of the boy. It was interesting to note, once Erik regain his memories, the distance between the two retracted.

Erik returned to the spot next his sire and haven't moved.

"Please, don't tell Veronica. She won't let me live it down," Erik said with a groan.

His sire patted Erik's shoulder and pointed to Jade.

"What? Don't look at me. I am not going to tell her….but Sylvando might," Jade said with a grin.

"My lips are sealed, honey. Can't say old Rab won't say anything. He is such a sneaky darling," Sylvando said with a slight wave of his hand.

"With this old memory, I will surely forget, laddie. Our knight here might," Lord Robert said.

"Sure, you jest. I will hold your secret to the end," He said with a bow.

"Oh, don't worry…I will," Serena added.

Erik groaned into his hands. His sire patted Erik's back again.

-DQDQDQ-

The rain hasn't let up. It fit the melancholy mood of the party.

After Veronica's funeral, the party separated to deal with their emotions. He decided to remain close to his sire but not too close. He would allow his sire time to deal with his grief. He wasn't surprised that his sire sitting next to Serena. Even from his spot, he could tell that she has been crying.

His heart ached for her and her loss.

He watched as she pointed to things and places around her home. He would guess that she was sharing memories with his sire.

After a few minutes, she stopped. Her hand dropped to her side. He could see her shoulders shaking. His sire placed his hand on her shoulder. She threw herself into his sire's arms. He heard her cries from where he stood. His sire hugged her and tried to offer her comfort.

He turned his back away but it didn't stop him from hearing the sobbing.

Slowly, he heard the crying stop then he heard a…lute?

He knew that Lady Serena played the harp. But this was new…

He turned around to see his sire playing a lute.

He did not know that his sire played an instrument.

By the expression on Lady Serena's face, she did not know either.

The shock turned into a slight smile as she picked up her harp and started to play.

Soon, he heard Sylvando's flute nearby joined them. Then there was another…and another. Soon…the sound of instruments filled the air.

It was a simple melody but it made him heart's grief lessen just a bit.

-DQDQDQ-

He was dreaming. He could instantly tell from his surroundings.

When he closed his eyes, he was sleeping in a comfortable bed at an inn. Now, he was in a field of grass and flowers. The sky was clear and there was a gentle breeze was in the air. It was simply beautiful. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sire and girl in red were sitting under a tree.

She looked familiar.

Surely, he approached the pair.

"I am sorry," The girl in red said.

"You saved us. You have nothing to be sorry for. I should be the one to say that I was sorry. I failed to protect you and the others," His sire said.

He almost wanted to turn around to allow them to continue their conversation in private. He didn't…he just stood there. Almost draw to the pair.

"Hogwash. You have nothing to be sorry for…he just ripped out your powers. I should have been protecting YOU!"

"Veronica …"

"Don't Veronica me. I had one job. One and I failed."

"You didn't fail. I am here…and so are the others."

"I supposed you're right. And you picked up another."

"He was eager enough."

Veronica snored.

"You are right about that. If he would stop lurking, I can give him the once over."

The pair turned around and look at him.

"Uhh…" He said as he took a step back.

Veronica got up from her spot and approached him.

It took him a few minutes to figure out what was so different about her. He remembered her being shorter….

"You have grown!"

She sighed.

"He isn't too bright."

"He has a good heart," His sire said in amusement.

"I supposed that is important," Veronica said as she walked around him.

"Uhh…Miss…."

She stopped in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"He better not have a single scratch on him, understood? "

"Yes, Lady Veronica…"

"Good."

She stared him. He felt her eyes drill into his soul. Finally, she huffed and threw her pigtails over her shoulder.

"I suppose you will do."

For some reason unknown to him, her words touched him. He tried to capture…even try kill these fine people. Instead of hate and anger, he was met with respect and acceptance.

It humbled him.

"I am honored that you would think so, Lady Veronica."

"Remember, he gets into loads of trouble by himself. So, always carry your sword. He also gets hurt a lot. So, try to learn a few healing spells. And…listen."

"Lady Veronica?"

"Just listen."

He frowned.

"Don't worry. You figure it out….I hope."

His sire coughed…although, he swore that it sounded more like a laugh.

End

A/N: This story has been sitting on my computer for about 4 months now. (Don't ask me why.) I always loved the friendship between these guys. Since our tiny fandom doesn't have many friendship fics, I decided...why not? Interesting enough, the idea for this fic came when our hero and our favorite knight was camping out during the second act. If you talk to him, our knight friend talked about his dislike for bugs and it went from there. I regret nothing. So, read and review if you wish.


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